The present invention relates to a radio telephone comprising a rechargeable battery.
A battery used as the power source of a radio telephone conventionally takes up as much as one half of the weight and volume of the radio telephone. Present day metal hybrid batteries have power densities twice those of traditional NiCd batteries. Therefore, their space requirement is usually less, and thus part, or even all, of the freed volume can be taken advantage of in a radio telephone design in accordance with the invention which utilizes a metal hybrid battery.
According to the present invention there is provided a radio telephone comprising a housing, a rechargeable battery and a substrate comprising electronic components, characterized in that the battery-forms part of a frame structure to which the substrate and the housing are secured.
A radio telephone in accordance with the present invention enables the battery to be utilized as an integral part of the structure of the radio telephone providing additional strength to the radio telephone without additional weight.
Preferably, the battery may be used to provide Radio Frequency (RF) shielding for at least some of the electronic components within the radio telephone.
The battery used as part of a supporting structure may be flat in shape and somewhat smaller in size than the radio telephone. The battery constitutes a frame around which the required printed circuit boards can be secured firmly on both sides.
The design provides highly efficient shielding against interference, and the mechanical structure can be reinforced with additional structures, when necessary. In state of the art battery design, the battery may be used as a structural element partly because it has a long life expectancy and partly because service requirements may be kept to a minimum. The functioning of the radio telephone in accordance with the present invention as an automobile accessory is not affected by the battery functioning as a structional support. The battery will charge in the same manner as conventional radio telephones.